Please, Teacher!
by Seto's Darkness
Summary: Naruto's not really into studying, but everything changes when the new teacher, Uchiha Sasuke, arrives [SasuNaru, Teacher!Sasuke fanfic]
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer : **I don't own anything.

**Warning : **shounen-ai, future yaoi, Teacher!Sasuke and Student!Naruto (therefore, teacher-student relationships…), mild language, mentions of light violence, sprinkle of cliché-ness and AU-ness and OOC-ness, presence of some negligible OCs, some mature themes (uhh, the teacher-student relation)… come on, this is rated **M** for a reason.

**Notes : **Please enjoy. I'm off to sulk in a corner, muttering about **my** dirty-minded… mind.

* * *

**Prologue**

**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto** yawned widely, the action almost splitting his face into half. Walking alongside him are his friends (more like fellow outcasts, actually): **Nara Shikamaru **(the lazy-ass genius with an IQ greater than the majority of the population's IQ totaled), **Akimichi Chouji **(the chubby dude that did nothing but eat his potato chips), **Aburame Shino **(the creepy silent guy that prefers to wear sunglasses even while inside the classroom) and **Inuzuka Kiba **(the rowdy guy that brings a puppy to school, despite the teachers' and classmates' heavy protests). The five of them are the most… outcast of all outcasts. 

**Konoha High School** is like the caste system of India: the outcasts are at the lowest level of course; the nerds come in next; the middle-class men (a better term for people that simply don't belong to any category); at the top are the socialites (the pretty, the handsome, the popular, the rich, you name them).

During his junior high years, Naruto has been a weakling that let bullies… well, bully him around. Everything changed when he reached high school though… he's determined to not let anybody step on him, even with his low "status".

Studying is more like a deadly (as in, death by boredom) chore to him. All teachers are hypocrites, one way or the other. That fact is enough to discourage him; alongside is the fact that he never really liked attending class. At first, he's eager to attend classes to stare at **Haruno Sakura**, the most sought-after girl on the whole school. After humiliating him in front of the class though (and generally making him a laughingstock), he stopped looking at her like some form of divinity.

Without any motivation or reason to attend class, Naruto's grades and attendance plummeted downwards. And, without any parent or guardian, Naruto's free to do as he wished.

* * *

Shikamaru nudged him painfully on his ribs, causing the sleeping blond to forcefully wake up. "Oi Naruto, I heard that we're going to have a new teacher." 

"And I heard, from theblabbering students from class 1-D that this teacher is **hot**." Chouji adds, in-between his teeth's crunching of potato chips.

Naruto stares at the front disinterestedly, knowing that it's probably a push-over pretty boy or girl. Ch, typical.

The classroom door bangs open, surprising all the students. Everybody rushed to their respective seats, hushed murmurs and squeals rippling through the student crowd. Even Naruto raised an eyebrow at the flashy entrance.

A young man, probably only four or five years older than him, comes in, striding inside with a confident gait. Chin held up high in a superior stance, the dark-haired man sneers down at the bunch of students gawking at him. Black eyes glitter coldly, and his voice is just as dark as his black blazer and his obsidian-colored eyes.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke and I'll be teaching all of you Advanced Biology and Genetics." His tone is freezing and commanding, but it doesn't deter the hormonal teenage females from swooning at the sound. Kiba chokes on his laughter, and the teacher's black eyes stare coolly at Naruto's friend.

"I _abhor_ working with idiots, clingy females—and that means **all** of you." He distastefully states, his sneer not fading at the slightest bit. Sakura, who's seated at the front row, looks like she's going to faint.

"You're not going to make any sound as I lecture, and you're definitely not allowed to do anything unless you're excused. Understood?"

And that's the first time Uzumaki Naruto _saw_ Uchiha Sasuke. Despite the arrogant and cold actions, Naruto can't help but feel his heartbeat race at the prospect of Sasuke being their new teacher.

His high school life is definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

Man, Sasuke's rude. And him teaching Biology (of all subjects) has a purpose :P Edits and other comments would be made later since I'm sneaking around to type and post this…

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : **I don't own anything.

**Warning : **shounen-ai, future yaoi, Teacher!Sasuke and Student!Naruto (therefore, teacher-student relationships…), mild language, mentions of light violence, sprinkle of cliché-ness and AU-ness and OOC-ness, presence of some negligible OCs, some mature themes (uhh, the teacher-student relation)… come on, this is rated **M** for a reason.

**Chapter WARNING: **SMUT at first segment. M-rated. You have been warned :)

* * *

**Please, Teacher!**

**Chapter One**

**

* * *

**Lips teased the tanned, sweaty skin beneath it, the long bangs of the one on top tickling the one below him. Despite the ticklish sensations, Naruto couldn't find it in himself to laugh and giggle, because the other was marking him, and _god, that feels good_— 

Those tantalizing lips moved away from his neck, and moved slowly upwards, sending searing hot touches to the scars on his cheeks, to his jaw-line. And the blond whined, almost pleadingly, and let his insisting hands push the other's face closer, closer to his lips, and the other complied, and soon, they were kissing again.

He couldn't get enough of this taste, whatever it was—it tasted like metal, like blood, like danger, like ice—and he found himself getting addicted to it, maybe because this was so wrong, and they'd both be punished if they were found out—

No—how can something that feels this good be wrong? It was simply unthinkable. Yes, unthinkable, and Naruto couldn't think at the moment, not when that wonderful hand was rubbing the skin on his groin, expertly massaging his growing hardness, letting him feel the mixture of pain and frenzy that he thought he never could feel towards any person.

This was too fantasy-like, not only because the other was too aloof to be engaged in something as intimate as this with him, but because all the other people he knew shunned him for one reason or the other, he wasn't popular—and this felt too _damn good…_

"Don't think too much," The other said, lips dragging around Naruto's chest this time, rough-textured tongue shamelessly lapping at the dribbles of sweat that formed. Naruto groaned loudly, pushing his body closer to the other's, not knowing what he's doing, yet knowing what to do…

Naruto's hands fumbled around the other's form, wanting to touch, touch, touch, if only to return the pleasure the other was giving to him. He found the spiky mop of bluish-black hair, he found the sharply-chiseled cheekbones, he found the swan-like neck, he found the confident shoulders, and he found the pale, god-like chest—

The other continued stroking him to completion, and he moved upwards, pushing Naruto back into soft sheets that he knew he didn't possess, but Naruto wanted this, wanted this more than anything else—

And the other was rubbing furiously against him, self-control slipping, and Naruto wanted that, because the other was always so detached, so controlled, and it was a blessing to see the other lose control, if only to him.

"Na-Naruto," The other rasped out, blocking the needy sounds that came out of their kiss-swollen lips by crashing their lips together. And Naruto arched forcefully upwards, moving his body infinitely closer, and groaning wildly—

"Sasuke—!"

* * *

"Have a nice dream, Uzumaki?" 

It was the same voice in his fantasy, but this time, it was _not _obviously groaning or whimpering, neither was it telling him to not think too much while they're having some… intimate affair. The thought made Naruto disappointed for a couple of seconds, before embarrassment at being caught (no, his classmates didn't, wouldn't, shouldn't know about his little daydream) sleeping in class showed.

"Ehh, sorry, Uchiha-sensei," Naruto said apologetically, even though he really wasn't feeling apologetic enough. It wasn't his fault that he needed to work part-time until late night last night. And it most certainly wasn't his fault that 'Uchiha-sensei' was so freakin' hot that he has been having dreams (whether he wanted to or not) about the other.

Obsidian eyes narrowed suspiciously at his contrite expression, and for a split-second, the other looked almost worried. Hell, even Naruto was _worried; _after all, if Sasuke was worried, then— Then, those same freaky-yet-drool-able eyes traveled shamelessly downwards, and as soon as it saw something… _odd_, a feline smirk stretched across the young teacher's lips.

"…Was my lecture really _that_ interesting, Uzumaki?" He asked instead, pointedly glancing at the _odd_ly bulging part of the other's pants, sick amusement lacing the words. The blond suddenly flushed, cursing his body for reacting so accurately to his imagination, before he glanced nervously around, fervently hoping that nobody else noticed.

"I'm sorry for not paying attention, sensei," Naruto spoke through gritted teeth, almost challenging their oh-so-sexy teacher into clueing in the whole class regarding the nature of his little dream.

The sadistic smirk widened, before Sasuke moved towards the front row again, hopefully going to resume his lecture about cross-over and Holiday Junctions, without giving away his detentions of hell.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as Sasuke stood up elegantly near the projector, laser-pointer already on the next slide. The teacher started saying the title of the current slide, and Naruto almost celebrated, _yes,_ Sasuke was feeling generous today—

"Uzumaki, you have detention after your last class."

_Damn it_.

* * *

"Man, good luck for your detention," Kiba said with a grin, knowing that the new teacher had a knack for giving away the most painful and most difficult of all detentions. Uchiha Sasuke, within two weeks of teaching, made himself known as the scariest and strictest of all the teachers of Konoha High School. 

Naruto shuddered as he recalled some of the more almost-impossible detentions. He recalled how Sabaku Gaara (a really _silent_ and _creepy_ sophomore) ended up erasing the vivid graffiti on the far-end of the school, just because he left his medical certificate at home when he was supposed to hand it to the Uchiha.

He remembered how Hyuuga Neji (another _cold_ and _silent_ sophomore) single-handedly mopped the entirety of the unused gymnasium (which accumulated _inches_ of dust), just because he wasn't able to completely answer Sasuke's question in the recitation. It turned out, unfortunately, that the sadistic teacher wanted a thorough answer, the ones that a student could formulate after cross-checking and assimilating information from at least _five _books.

Yep, the young Uchiha's detentions are really terrifying—and the Principal approved of it, because it _disciplined_ (more like scared) the students.

"Do you think Uchiha-sensei would make him clean the garbage dump of the cafeteria?" Kiba asked too loudly, too cheerfully, and Naruto wanted to hit his friend, his fellow-outcast.

Chouji made a soft sound of thoughtfulness, all the while eating his snack. Shikamaru gave a snort, signifying that his participation in this conversation couldn't be expected. Probably because it was too troublesome. Shino… well, where was Shino anyway? The guy suddenly disappeared, but nobody really noticed, because no difference could be perceived anyway.

"…Oh, I know the hardest detention Uchiha-sensei can give fox-boy here," Kiba suddenly said, brown eyes glinting maliciously, while Naruto walked more briskly forward, in hopes that he could prevent himself from punching his dog-loving friend.

"…What's that?" Chouji asked curiously, and the silently-fuming blond could admit that he was a bit curious about Kiba's idea of a painful detention.

"…STUDYING!"

…Figures.

In the end, Naruto couldn't help himself.

He punched his laughing friend in the face.

Stupid Kiba.

* * *

There are some things in life that a person should let go of. 

There are some things in life that a person should never let go of—even though time had passed like slow grains of sand, even though death had come piercing through with its pointed scythe, even though fragile, important bonds had been continuously severed, pasted, and cherished.

He journeyed for a long time, heart seeking out something that could fill its darkening void, soul reaching out its hands for something that he doesn't know, something that he yearns for subconsciously, with all his being.

He turned down offers of love, admiration, devotion and pleasure—because he knew he wouldn't feel completion in the arms smoothened with perfume and lotion, he knew he wouldn't belong in an atmosphere of flowers and luxury.

He broke too many hearts, but he could somehow understand their pain, because his heart was still broken, by memories that he could feel so tangibly, as though he could _taste_ and _feel_ them, memories that escaped his grasp once he called upon them.

He could only make out the _feeling_, the _desire_, to find something, some_one_, the perfection that he's longing for. It was hard, trying to suppress the urge to just break down and numbly and mindlessly search for that _feeling_, but he managed to finish his studies with flying colors and he landed an immediate job here at Konoha High School.

He never liked teaching, he never liked associating with anybody, and he never liked people. He never liked much—but he still accepted the job, feeling something pulling him inside the structure of white corridors and laughing faces.

He was being pulled along by a simple string, but he never dared to go against the pull, because it _hurt_ him—his heart, his body, his soul—and he never really minded the search for this completion, because it gave a purpose to his limbo-like life.

He remembered opening the door harshly, mad at his own self for letting such unknown memories and emotions control him so fully, mad at his own self for not being strong enough—not strong enough, not like _him_—and—

And he remembered seeing that shining mop of golden hair, and that even-more-brilliant gaze of the utmost-blue. He remembered saying words that he knew were biting and harsh and dark and so like him—but his coal-colored eyes were pulled deep into the other's, whether they knew it or not.

He remembered the way his heart beat that time, fast and furious with the sudden urge to go over there—and, _and_—

—He had wanted to—

—A name that was long-lost with the sands of time, separated by the gates of life, death, reality, illusion, present and past—

A name that was very familiar before, even now, even now, after so long, after all the tears, promises, injuries, wounds, blood, dreams and deaths—even after all those things—

A name of the one person that gave the light to his spiraling descent to unforgiving darkness—

_Na—Ru—Naru—Naru—_

There are some things in life that a person should let go of.

There are some things in life that a person should never let go of—no matter how much pain the other caused you, no matter how much you wanted to forget the other, no matter how much time has passed, no matter _what_.

He remembered smirking, a familiar gesture, because the circle was completed, finally, even though his intangible memories were still not fully there. It was simply because of the sheer _power_, sheer_ force_ that he felt as he drowned into that inviting pools of azure.

There are some things that one should never let go of.

_I finally found you_.

* * *

"Do you dream of unusual things?" 

The seemingly-innocent question pierced easily through the late afternoon atmosphere, the sun's scarlet rays bathing the entire room with a pinkish-red glow. Naruto was thankful for that, because he could feel heat creep up his neck, to his cheeks. The blond was about to retort defiantly, since he knew that Sasuke knew about the nature of his little daydream earlier, but he went against it, since the teacher was faintly blushing as well.

But he could never be too sure, could he? It could be just because of the afternoon sun's rays, but it felt so much better to assume that Sasuke was blushing—because—

The blush disappeared soon after though, but the image of that pink flush atop the porcelain-pale cheeks was forever burned into the younger student's mind.

"…Never mind," Sasuke said without a hint of the slight hesitance before, without a hint of asking a slightly-too-personal question.

Blue eyes continued to stare at his teacher, trying and failing to decipher the meaning behind the other's words and actions. Sensing the unblinking stare, Sasuke frowned at his student, waving one elegant hand dismissively at the blond.

"Finish the paper and I'll let you leave," The coal-eyed male said with a smudge of fond amusement, and Naruto hurriedly filled out the form the other dumped on his head earlier.

He supposed he should be thankful that he didn't suffer from the very popular Detentions from Hell—but—

Since when did filling out forms about personal information (too much like an autograph-book Sakura-chan and her buddies adored) count as a detention?

* * *

"Yo, fox-face!" Kiba chirped, contentedly slurping the cup ramen—which, Naruto knew, came from his own cupboard—as soon as the blond entered his small apartment. Chouji was already eating his portion of the take-out they ordered, while Shikamaru and Shino were silently seated on the couch on his living room space. 

"You got ramen for me?" Naruto asked brightly, ignoring Kiba, though the question was useless, since nobody dared forget buying ramen for the energetic blond. The first time it happened was the last—since he was superbly frightening when hungry and hungry for ramen.

"Ehh, you're not dirty…" Kiba observed with an air of disappointment. "You're not stinky too…" He added, now unarguably sounding dissatisfied.

"…Uchiha-sensei… just asked me to fill out some forms," Naruto said quietly, not noticing the piercing, calculating look that Shikamaru shot him. He was too busy slurping his ramen, and also trying hard not to blush as he remembered the questions on the form. He really doubted that their teacher needed to know what his favorite color was—but he couldn't bring himself to question Sasuke, nor could he bring himself to ask his so-called friends.

It would sound and feel even weirder than it already was, and Naruto didn't want that.

"What type of forms, Naruto?" The lazy teen asked him with a serious tone, and Naruto found himself fighting the urge to nervously fidget under the questioning stare.

"…Just forms," The blond said almost weakly, but he laughed afterwards, though it sounded too high, too strained. Naruto was grateful for Kiba's sudden interruption by changing the topic, and he returned to eating his noodles.

Shikamaru's stare, however, didn't leave the slightly-uneasy blond.

* * *

"Ehh! Teachers' Day?" 

"Man, that's so… _so…_"

"So primary school…"

"Yep, so childish…"

"Hey, I think it's cool!"

"…Uchiha-sensei is going to be there, though…"

"Ohmygosh, you're right!"

"Maybe I can impress him with my singing skills, and maybe he wouldn't brush me off that much!"

"Ha, in your dreams!"

"Let's make a nice presentation for Uchiha-sensei!"

"Yeah!"

A couple lot more murmurs rippled through the small crowd that gathered near the school's bulletin board. The bolder ones boasted their plans of proclaiming their _love_ for the stoic teacher on the Teachers' Day presentation. The meeker students made plans of dolling themselves up for that day when they could show their admiration for their young, handsome teacher.

Uzumaki Naruto simply snorted at the cheerful ideas and girly laughter, ignoring the strange sensation of pain on his chest as Sasuke's name was mentioned repeatedly, and made his way to class.

* * *

There were some things that people don't question, because it felt so damn right. There are things that should just be left upon instincts, emotions—and he never believed those crap before, but now— 

He let his feet, covered with polished leather shoes, take him to the destination messily scrawled into the form. His mind felt slightly hazy, but he could still feel that unmistakable tug towards the area, and each step felt like he was becoming closer and closer to his light—

He couldn't bring himself to care about the surroundings, about the people that lightly hit his proud shoulders as he walked, about the shops that boasted sweet-smelling food, about the houses filled with cheerful and loving families that he doesn't have now. All he could care about was his destination, about finding the source of that pull, that powerful force driving him—

He finally reached the third floor of an apartment, uncaring that it's already past nine and that it's rather rude to appear on this doorstep without any notice beforehand. Again, he couldn't bring himself to care (not that being caring was in his personality and genes).

He lifted one confident knuckle, ready to announce his presence to the occupant of the apartment—the occupant who was orphaned and is living alone and is working part-time at a restaurant. The occupant who adores the color orange, thrives on ramen, friends with the other outcasts of their batch—the same person that managed to awaken something deep within him, something unimaginable, and something powerful—

Something that he struggled for—but he couldn't, could_n't_—reach—

—A far away memory—

—Lost within the dunes of time, within the wishes of jealous admirers, within the blazing feelings of competition, within the unyielding goals of murder and power—

"Uzumaki," He intoned, as soon as the door opened to reveal golden hair and blue eyes and surprised look but expecting soul—

"Sasu-Sasuke," The other stammered out, not noticing that he accidentally called out the other's name, as though they were familiar, as though they were close, but they couldn't know—maybe they are—they should be, right?—because the memories were still hazy, but—

"Uzumaki, I have a proposal for you," Uchiha Sasuke said, repeating the other's surname on his lips, feeling a mild portion of his thirst lessen, and feeling his heart _irrationally _yearn for the other more.

He closed the door soundly before him with an audible click, and he wasted no time for closing the space between the two of them, amidst the whispers of confusion and the melodic strings of a struggle to place the feeling of a love-long-lost.

_If this is a dream… I don't want to wake up.

* * *

_

**To Be Continued**

Now, tell me, how many of you would have guessed that this is a reincarnation fic:P That's not very usual, ne? Reincarnation **plus** high-school fic. Yayness! XD Don't worry, Sasuke (or Naruto, for that matter) wouldn't be all "Oh I remember you let's have hot smex right now!" Hahaha. That's tempting, though. But that's such a pointless thing to do, because there's always PWPs. Anyhow, expect some more plot in the next installments :D

And… don't kill me for the "cliffie". Remember, if I'm dead, I wouldn't be able to write updates! XD Now, do you think I'm evil enough to turn that last part into Sasuke's dream:D Some more smut (…just lime first) next chapter :)

Oh, and I have **updated **"I'm Married To Who!" and "Lone Flower" already :) Please do check them out as well.

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

**Warnings: **Yaoi. Shounen-Ai. SasuNaru. Teacher!Sasuke and Student!Naruto (therefore, teacher-student relationships…), mild language, sprinkle of cliché-ness and AU-ness and OOC-ness, presence of some negligible OCs, some mature themes (uhh, the teacher-student relation)… come on, this is rated **M** for a reason.

**Authoresses' Notes:**Sorry for the delay. Announcements and explanations at my profile page :) Thanks to everybody who email-ed, PM'd, IM'd me.

**Promotions: ****Please join the C2 for the OTP in Naruto: SasuNaru and NaruSasu: **_SasuNaru Shounen ai and Yaoi Heaven_. Please join _my_ forum for Filipino yaoi-shounen-ai enthusiasts. Links are **on my profile**. Please do also check my livejournal for more updates :)

**Rushed in 45 minutes. **Please forgive the lack-of-sleep-induced mistakes.

* * *

"The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is offering to make you the head of their Biological Sciences Department," The voice said, with its owner seated comfortably on the executive's chair. 

Yes, it was great news. He received dozens of phone calls from the faculty, along with even more emails about the arrangement of his visit to the campus. Years ago, he would have jumped at the opportunity, would have grabbed the chance before it could disappear.

Things are different now.

Uchiha Sasuke couldn't find anything to say to that, so he kept quiet. His older brother, the head of Harvard's Research Institute, called him for a brief meeting. The younger Uchiha knew that Itachi would talk to him about this. But he didn't want to go.

He didn't want to leave Japan.

Sasuke's silence was enough to tell Itachi his decision. A rare frown graced the older one's face. "You wouldn't be able to surpass me, if you stay here," Itachi said, scarlet eyes narrowed questioningly.

Sasuke's fists clenched at the reminder. He has always wanted to surpass his brother. This would be the chance. Yet, he found that the tugging became more persistent, more desperate. His heart was pounding away, as though telling him to _not leave_.

Last night's dream was still painfully etched into his mind. He wondered, not for the first time that day, if he'd get around proposing _that_ to his student. It was absurd, ridiculous, and it could just happen.

"I refuse the offer," Sasuke's lips moved. The Sasuke-from-before whined loudly from deep inside himself. He still wanted to surpass his older brother. The Sasuke-now settled at the statement, hoping that he could resolve this _thing_ with his student soon.

Itachi looked like he wanted to genuinely ask about Sasuke, about his decision. Soon after, the look disappeared, as quickly as it came.

Instead, his older brother asked in a detached voice. "Why?"

Sasuke swallowed. There was a lump lodged in his throat. He couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. Yet, even if he could speak, he couldn't exactly say _why_, could he?

Sasuke parted his lips, and his voice came out, no matter how weak-willed it sounded.

"I… _need_ to stay."

* * *

**Please, Teacher!**

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"Come on, guys! Work faster!" Voices rang around the hallways and classrooms, while the more-dedicated students convinced the lazy ones to do their share of work. 

Uzumaki Naruto contentedly watched his classmates buzz around like bees, voice overlapping with each other until the blond couldn't understand anything anymore. But that's okay, since he wasn't interested with their chatter anyway. Sometimes, a squeal would be louder than others, but then, it would fade away into normalcy after a few moments.

Normalcy.

Was Uzumaki Naruto normal? Yes, he was. No, he wasn't.

Last night, an odd dream plagued him, until he tossed and turned and he still couldn't get himself to sleep. Like most dreams, he couldn't remember the details, but he could recall the _feeling_ of the dream. It was filled with compressed anger, with desperation and sadness, and determination—and Naruto had trouble distinguishing each emotion from each other, much like the buzz of his classmates' conversations.

His dreams were becoming stranger with each passing day, and last night's dream had a person with grayish-black hair and piercing scarlet eyes. The blond couldn't remember meeting anybody with such striking eyes.

"This year, we're going to have a great presentation for Sasuke-sensei!" The girls chorused enthusiastically, and the name of their new teacher jolted Naruto out of his reverie. The blond looked down at his hands. They were shaking, almost imperceptibly, but shaking nevertheless.

_Sasuke…_

Just the thought of Uchiha's name brought a tingle –not that girly-mushy-mushy thing that he hated, of course not!- throughout his whole body. He could vividly imagine Sasuke's face as he lectured, Sasuke's lips as he smirked, Sasuke's—

"Mou, Naruto! Help us in the preparations and stop looking more of an idiot that you already are!" Sakura exclaimed, and Naruto was surprised to find her standing so close to him. Why was she here, anyway? She was the one who'd rather die than willingly come within ten meters of the blond.

Was she actually warming up to him…?

"Ah, ah, sorry, Sakura-chan," The blond said anyway, as he stood. If Sakura within three meters of him is shocking enough, the blond almost fainted at the smile he received from the pink-haired girl. And her next words were accompanied by a fond tone, too. "Ah, that's nice to hear, Naruto."

Ehh?!

Naruto must have looked as dumbstruck as he felt, for Sakura let out a feminine giggle. The blond placed a tanned hand sheepishly behind his neck. And then, Sakura's cheeks were dusted by a faint pink color, and she was stepping closer and closer, and the other's weren't looking, and—

RING! RING! RING!

Naruto almost jumped in shock as his cellphone vibrated against his hip. Without another word, the blond took out his phone to take a look at who messaged/called him.

"Ehh?" Naruto muttered mostly to himself. "No number?"

Which meant that somebody called him using a payphone, or a private line.

And then, Naruto shrugged apologetically at Sakura, before making his way towards the rest of the class, offering his help for the presentation's arrangements.

Naruto didn't notice the disappointed look on Sakura's face.

Nor did he notice Uchiha Sasuke-sensei standing near the window of his faculty office directly in front of their classroom's windows, the landline receiver in hand, and black eyes narrowed disapprovingly at Sakura and the things that happened inside.

* * *

"Uzumaki," Their biology teacher's voice was clear and crisp, and the group of teenage boys that were about to leave the school's premises stopped on their tracks. If they felt left out because Uchiha-sensei only called out Naruto, they didn't show it. 

The blond addressed slowly turned around to face their teacher; his normally-grinning face was neutral—carefully neutral. Shikamaru, the ever-genius teen, raised an eyebrow at the unfolding events.

"Sasu—" Naruto started to say, but he stopped himself, just before he called out their aloof teacher by his given name. Shikamaru folded his arms over his chest. This was getting interesting.

"U-Uchiha-sensei," Naruto acknowledged instead, after a moment's pause. Sasuke's charcoal-hued eyes were focused intently on the blond.

Kiba yawned rudely in the background, since after all, they were on their way to hanging out on Naruto's apartment, and they weren't really interested with Uchiha-sense and Naruto staring intently at each other. The sound of potato chips being chewed inside Chouji's mouth was almost deafening.

Sasuke looked lost for a split-second, before his natural look of indifference settled into his aristocratic features. "I would suggest that you spend more time doing your homework than hanging out with your peers," The Uchiha said soon after.

Shikamaru hummed to himself, analyzing Sasuke's words in different angles, and choosing which was more compatible with his observations. _I don't want you to spend more time with them_. Ah, the teacher's jealous? Worried?

"I don't want to think of homework _all the time_, sensei," Naruto responded tightly. Kiba dragged Chouji towards the nearest convenience store, probably to buy more food. Shino was… where was Shino, anyway?

Naruto's line was easier to interpret than Sasuke's, probably because Shikamaru understood Naruto better. _I don't want to think of you all the time_.

Shikamaru's lips twitched into an amused smile. He was pretty sure that Uchiha-sensei and Naruto weren't fully aware of what the hell were they saying. Really, this was too much like the romance drama that his normally-drama-hating mother was following every night.

"Ah, which explains your less than satisfactory grade," Sasuke said lightly, but Shikamaru recognized the teasing glint inside those ebony irises. Naruto flushed, as expected, while Shikamaru turned away as soon as Naruto opened his mouth to argue.

Shikamaru might like analyzing things and seeing things that others don't, but Sasuke and Naruto bickering (or flirting, Shikamaru's genius mind supplied) were just too troublesome for him.

* * *

Teacher's Day arrived quickly, and before they knew it, they were all seated in the auditorium and clapping at various intervals to show their support for their teachers. But when Uchiha Sasuke-sensei was named both 'Most Popular Teacher' and 'Student's Choice', almost everybody was standing and showing their genuine appreciation for the handsome teacher. 

The program continued with the students doing ridiculous stuff like dancing in tight, tight suits, and doing deadly-boring recitations.

Sasuke kept his face turned away from the female student dancers that winked at him at regular intervals. The girls giggled excitedly and whispered loudly about Sasuke-sensei being shy and embarrassed.

Sasuke would have corrected their wrong interpretations of his aversion to them, but that would take too much effort and would also mean that he'd have to spend time to explain.

There was even one class who was bold enough –or stupid enough, in Sasuke's opinion- to offer him a bouquet of red roses while singing an incredibly sappy song.

During the Teacher's Day program, Itachi's words gnawed at the edges of Sasuke's mind. These students… they weren't intellectuals like the people that would surely surround him if he went abroad.

He doesn't have a chance of advancing here, if he stayed in this school. If he wanted –of course he wanted!- to surpass his older brother, he needed to leave.

It didn't help that the awards he got were the things that he got not because of his powerful credentials, but because of his stunning looks. His lifelong dream of surpassing Itachi wouldn't happen if he stayed here.

The last portion of the program was for students to dedicate songs or messages to the teachers. Sasuke remained in his seat, his face schooled into a practiced impassive expression, even though his thoughts were in a dizzying turmoil.

Should he leave? Should he stay?

What about –_his un-recovered memories_?- Naruto?

What about him?

There was always a chance that the persistent feeling was just caused by something else. Tiredness, fatigue, stress?

Or maybe he was just imagining those things, because he thought that the Uzumaki kid looked cute when he was irritated or confused?

"Uchiha-sensei, WE LOVE YOU!" Four girls shrieked into the microphone, but Sasuke paid them no mind. He was used to mindless, empty declarations of love.

Why should he stay here, anyway?

Even _if_ those dreams really meant something –something like loving his adorably clumsy student?- he _shouldn't _do anything. Heck, the chance of that student feeling something remotely romantic was less than 0.01 percent.

Why should he stay?

Sasuke shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't work. He stood up stiffly, murmuring a quick excuse to the principal seated to his right, before he left the auditorium.

* * *

He walked out of the auditorium because the noise and the smiles were suffocating him, and that's not a good atmosphere if he wanted to think. Yet, Sasuke would have to admit that the person he met on the supposedly-vacant corridor was even more headache-inducing than the proclamations of love inside the auditorium. 

"Uzumaki, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked hotly before he could even think if it's proper or not to suddenly talk like that. He reasoned to himself that he was irritated because Naruto was supposed to suffer inside the auditorium, listening to his classmates continually praise his hated-Uchiha-sensei.

…Sasuke wasn't irritated because Naruto wasn't appreciating Teacher's Day. _He wasn't, was he?_

If Sasuke was irritated because Naruto apparently didn't appreciate his teachers –which includes Sasuke himself- then Sasuke's in big trouble.

"Uh, Sasu—Uchiha-sensei," The blond hastily corrected himself. Sasuke had to raise an eyebrow at that. The blond kept on almost-calling him by his first name. It was a strange occurrence, but admittedly something that the Uchiha had no qualms about.

Somehow, the name 'Sasuke' didn't sound so hollow and empty when Naruto was the one saying it.

When Itachi said his name, it only meant that there was something wrong. When his worshippers mentioned his name, it was usually coupled with their pointless fantasies about him actually worshipping them back.

When this particular student –this dead-last, annoying, loudmouth student…- said his name, it felt like there was something more than the arrogant, self-centered, rich, intelligent, handsome Sasuke.

"…Why are you staring at me like that?" Naruto asked after a few moments, and Sasuke hastily shifted his eyes away. He wasn't even aware he was staring. Maybe he should really leave, because these kinds of things, these kinds of feelings, didn't happen to him before he met Naruto. Maybe he'd be cured of this weird sickness –yes! It has to be a disease! Why else would he feel this way…?- if he stayed away.

Sasuke didn't say anything.

Naruto nodded uneasily and then inched away from his biology teacher.

Sasuke felt a strong jab at his chest at each step Naruto took away from him. …The plan of moving away wouldn't be that effective, after all…

"What are you doing here, Uzumaki?" Sasuke repeated his earlier question, and he felt a jolt of success when Naruto stopped moving away from him.

Ribbons –soft ribbons that were made of the gentlest strings- curled around his heart. If he stared hard enough, Sasuke could almost see the ribbons connecting his heart to Naruto's. What the hell was he seeing, anyway?

Ribbons?! Has he finally lost it?!!!

"Eh, I'm tired of hearing them say that you're sexy and hot and all that," Naruto said breezily.

Sasuke stared at his student, but it seemed that Naruto didn't even realize the possible implications of his statement.

"Why?" The Uchiha asked smoothly, walking towards the rooftop, while the blond walked by his side. "Jealous?" Sasuke continued to walk, smirking at Naruto's sudden stop in walking.

"WHAT?! Why would I be jealous?! I know that they have no chance with you anyway—" The blond started to rant, but he stopped himself again. Sasuke turned to regard his student, who was currently looking like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.

Naruto turned his head away from the older one's scrutinizing, yet amused stare. "…I know that I'm sexier and hotter than you anyway," The blond added after a few moments' pause.

Sasuke let silence be his reply. Naruto seemed confident with that poor-excuse-for-an-excuse though. Sasuke felt the smirk tugging at his lips again.

"I think so too," The Uchiha replied to the 'sexier-and-hotter-comment', enjoying the way Naruto blushed once more.

The thoughts of leaving Japan, this school, Uzumaki Naruto, completely left Sasuke, as they both walked towards the rooftop, content to skip the Teacher's Day program, as long as they skip it together.

* * *

"Tch, I didn't need to hear those things," Shikamaru sulkily muttered to himself as he came back from the bathroom. It was just his luck to stumble upon Sasuke and Naruto on his way back to the auditorium. 

"…So that's the reason…" A deep voice murmured, and Shikamaru almost jumped in shock. There was a young man -a bit taller than him, and around seven years older- standing beside him. Shikamaru was pretty observant, so the way this person suddenly appeared…!

Shikamaru watched the young man watch Sasuke and Naruto walking away from the auditorium.

There was something about the man that irked Shikamaru, something that made him feel queasy.

Was it the old-man-like-gray-hair? Was it the other's stealth? Was it the voice? Was it the scarlet eyes?

The young man turned to face him. Shikamaru felt himself shiver at the cold gaze the other gave him. And he felt a stab of worry towards Naruto.

This man…

This man looks like Sasuke.

* * *

It was rare for Sasuke to be in a good mood. 

Well, it might be because he just spent who-knows-how-many-hours with Naruto on the rooftop, bickering and swapping insults with each other?

Sasuke still wasn't sure about this, but he was sure that he didn't want to leave Japan—at least, not until he was sure of what was really happening.

The young teacher noticed the red light beeping on the living room as soon as he entered his posh, but dimly-lit and slightly-lonely apartment suite. Sasuke listened to the voicemail of various people –from the researchers at MIT, from random stalkers, from persistent students who wanted a 'tutorial session' with him- as he relaxed on the couch.

A tiny smile played by his lips as he felt the desperate tugging on his chest cease as soon as he spent more time with Naruto. Really, that _dobe_ looked so unbelievably naïve and innocent, and—

There was a last beep, before the answering machine delivered the last message.

"Sasuke, I can't believe that I have such a foolish little brother," The voice started out. Sasuke's blood ran cold. Itachi addressed him by his name. Which meant…

"I now know why you don't want to go." Itachi's words never gave happiness to Sasuke before, but this time, it made Sasuke feel such an overwhelming, helpless emotion. But the fact that Itachi discovered –somehow- of his unsure-yet feelings wasn't enough, since Itachi's message wasn't over yet.

"Nevertheless, I'll send you off to MIT in 2 days' time."

* * *

**To Be Continued**

Eeeh, I love Itachi, but I also love making him act like a meanie-brother XD (…Oh, wait. He IS a meanie-brother :P)

**A/N: **…Erm, hello? Hahaha. Sorry for this chapter's shortness and for the extremely late updates –dodges random projectiles- I've been working hard on my GPA so yeah… not much time left for fanfic-writing :l Sorry, sorry. But I promise to not abandon my fics:)

Please do check out my profile/my LJ for more updates:D

**Fangirling: **So what if I'm a SasuNaru supporter? Sasuke-after-timeskip, MARRY ME!!! LOL

**Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**:I don't own anything.  
**Warnings**:Yaoi. Shounen-Ai. SasuNaru. Teacher!Sasuke and Student!Naruto, mild language, sprinkle of cliché-ness and AU-ness and OOC-ness, presence of some negligible OCs, some mature themes (uhh, the teacher-student relation)… come on, this is rated **M** for a reason. Sasuke and Naruto might seem a bit bipolar in this chapter, but hey, they're more confused than ever :p  
**Notes: **The only excuse I can offer for the delay is the lack of time I have lately, no thanks to school. I'm already out of the hospital (wait, that was a year ago…) and I'm on my final year in university! Hehe. Time sure is fast… Thank you so much for the support you guys have sent for the past months, despite my inactivity! I'm very ecstatic to read any kind of review, so, thank you, thank you! I haven't written anything for the Naruto fandom for quite some time, so I hope my writing is still passable XD;; I hope you guys enjoy this installment of Please, Teacher! I'd love to hear what you guys think!

* * *

"He knows," Sasuke muttered against the dim shadows of his apartment, his fist going into a cycle of clenching and unclenching. But what does Itachi know, exactly? Is Itachi that damn _good_ that he has already figured out what is Sasuke staying for—even before Sasuke managed to grasp it?

Sasuke didn't have any concrete idea as to why he refused to go abroad. There is just that feeling of terrible loss—an feeling of immense sadness that accompanied the thoughts of leaving Japan. Sasuke knew that if he left, he wouldn't be able to return to this place in a long time.

The young Uchiha collapsed against the nearby sofa, sinking into its pliant cushions. His body suddenly felt too heavy, the fun he had today draining away from him like sand trickling out of a pair of cupped hands.

Itachi has always been an independent person—doing everything he needed alone, doing everything he wanted alone. He shaped his destiny with persistent fingers, he got what he wanted in a blink of an eye, he trudged down his path before anyone can even protest—leaving his colleagues to be manipulated by his hands, leaving his opponents with a feeling of defeat, leaving Sasuke to be unable of doing anything but follow his footsteps.

It was a very tiring life for Sasuke, and he wanted out of the cycle that is Itachi. Every time he thought he would be able to stretch out his hands and grasp even just the back of Itachi's shirt, Itachi would prove to be way ahead of him, leaving Sasuke to only look on with helpless frustration.

"_I'll send you off to MIT in 2 days' time_." That's what Itachi had said.

Two days.

And the hands of time started to creak against its rusty hinges, moving slowly forward.

* * *

**Please, Teacher!**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"You can't stay here forever. _We_ can't stay here forever."

Itachi's face, like always, betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Despite his calm façade, however, his eyes' intensity betrayed an unspoken urgency. Itachi's nimble fingers shook slightly, as though he was controlling an urge to shake his younger brother to make him realize things.

Sasuke is thankful that he managed to reach Itachi before he boarded his private plane. It seemed that Itachi planned on flying to States by today—but. Itachi still seemed to possess that slightly-obsessive characteristic of always agreeing to Sasuke's demands to see him, no matter where he was, no matter what he was occupied with.

Sasuke wanted to hope that maybe, just maybe, Itachi would still show him that almost-tender favoritism he was showered with all those years ago.

"Not forever," Sasuke agreed, because even if he didn't want to leave Japan, he knew he couldn't stay here forever. And it wasn't just because he needed to compete with his brother. There was a deeper reason, something that haunted him but was always pushed into the back of his mind.

If Sasuke was feeling reasonable, he would have thought that Itachi's decision to send him off to States to be the best choice at the moment. But there was that aching pang in his chest again, and he disliked leaving puzzles unsolved.

Puzzles like _this situation_—

Puzzles like Naruto—

Puzzles like _them_—

"The only reason we returned to this place is because—" Itachi stopped short, his eyes glaring at his secretary who then hurriedly scampered away. Sasuke glared at him too, because didn't they already instruct their employees to not be within hearing distance when the Uchiha brothers are talking to each other?

"I know," Sasuke snapped, fingers digging into his palm, forming crimson crescents against his skin, "but just…! Just until the end of the school year. It's only a few more months."

Sasuke chanced a glance at his older brother, but Itachi still looked nonplussed. "I'll help out more in the investigations," He bargained, but winced when he realizes it was the wrong offer.

"I told you I'll handle this by myself," Itachi said steely, eyes narrowed menacingly, before it softened into a stern glare, "You don't have to get too involved."

Sasuke huffed, a rush of air escaping his lips. He felt his mind racing, thinking of possible reasons he can say to sway Itachi's decision, thinking of the things he can say to shift Itachi's judgment.

"Is it _that_ important?" Itachi asked softly, hands warm and heavy against Sasuke's shoulders. "Is _he_ that important?"

The younger man still felt unsure of the exact reasons why he wanted to remain in Japan, for as long as possible. But his answer had a ring of certainty, even as he looked slightly surprised at his admittance.

"Yes." Sasuke said and shivered when Itachi's fingers shook in its grip on his shoulders, "It's very important to me."

There was a pause, before Itachi sighed, lifting one hand and gesturing at his private plane that was probably meant to cancel his flight for now.

"I can't let you do any more stupid things," Despite his alleged maturity, Sasuke snorted at Itachi's offhanded insult, "foolish little brother."

* * *

"I want to tell him—"  
"You don't even know what you _want_ to tell him."

"You can't be so sure—"  
"There is nothing you _should _tell him."

"I won't give away vital information—"  
"Then what _else_ would you say?"

"I just want—"  
"What—for him to wait? For him to understand? Will you tell half-truths or half-lies? Anything half is cruel, Sasuke. You should realize that if you're going to tell him, you will have no choice but to tell all truths or all lies. You will only destroy the balance if you force only to show the things you think he needs to know."

"But I can't just—"  
"…There is no such choice for us, little brother."

* * *

"I really don't appreciate idiots drooling during my class," Sasuke remarked with distaste as he knocked sharply on the table of one unfortunate girl, ignoring the stars in her eyes with practiced grace.

Students whispered to one another as to how Sasuke-sensei appeared to be stricter and meaner and _ohsocoolandsexy_ today. Sasuke ignored those furious mumblings as well, his voice used for more important things like imparting his knowledge about the hormones linked with the anterior and posterior pituitary glands.

He made his speech rate slightly faster; he suppressed a mocking smirk when the students ceased their gossiping and put on more effort into catching the important patches of his lesson. Punishments didn't always have to be about detentions and surprise quizzes, after all.

He spotted a familiar mop of golden hair from the back of the class. Surprisingly, even Naruto looked serious in listening to the lesson. His tanned face is focused on his lecture pad and his hasty handwriting, nodding along at various intervals and scrunching his nose at parts where he was lost.

Sasuke disliked leaving his desk whenever he's doing his lectures, but it wouldn't hurt to catch the possible delinquents, would it? If he walked while doing the lesson, he would catch those brats who like to play note-passing, he would catch the kids who like to fiddle with their cellphones during class. If he walked towards the back, he would see Naruto and his messy handwriting and his intriguing facial expressions.

With those thoughts in mind, he walked along the classroom's aisles, adjusting the volume of his voice to make sure that everyone could still hear him.

He was approaching the more boring part of his topic, and even Naruto's eyes looked sleepy. He was about to knock on the blond's table to retain his attention, when his cellphone vibrated insistently inside the confines of his pocket. He ignored it for a moment, but the caller was annoyingly relentless. He gave a mental sigh and figured that giving his students a ten-minute early dismissal wouldn't be so bad.

"You're dismissed," Sasuke finished the lecture and the students gaped blankly at him, knowing fully well that he disliked doing anything that could be perceived as kindness to his class.

Sasuke cursed the insistent caller in the privacy of his mind, lamenting the loss of seeing the way Naruto would react when he's startled during lessons. The young teacher glanced at the display on his phone, fully prepared to answer to inflict his exponentially-increasing temper.

'ITACHI CALLING' blinked at him, and Sasuke felt an oncoming headache.

He glared at the doorway, with force enough to melt the half-opened sliding door.

If it wasn't so irritating and more-than-plain-weird, Sasuke would have been touched at Itachi's sentiments on following him around. As it was, it only served to painfully remind Sasuke of the countdown to his remaining days in this school.

"Missed chance," Sasuke muttered to himself, busying his hands in arranging his papers and lecture notes.

From his spot beside the classroom's doorway, Uchiha Itachi pocketed his cellphone, an understanding twinkle look in his eyes and a grim smile on his face.

* * *

"You know you don't have to read all those reading materials I posted," Sasuke remarked lightly as he passed the furiously-studying blond on the library. It's a Friday night and while Sasuke didn't indulge in those mindless parties and crowded functions, he couldn't see Naruto as the type who'd be slaving away over books on a 'weekend night'.

"If it's not needed then why put it up?" Naruto retorted childishly, the walls separating the two of them into student and teacher crumbling down in an instant. Sasuke suddenly was aware of how the two of them are alone in this library, of how nobody would come here even if—

"There's such a thing as selecting only the important things," Sasuke replied with an arrogant sneer, feeling like he's twelve again and that he had to prove his superiority over the person in front of him, "_dead-last_."

Naruto's blue eyes sparked with angered ferocity, "I'm NOT a dead-last!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he shifted closer to the studying blond. He pulled out an unused chair and sat beside his student; his cool gaze dismissed the chicken-scrawl handwriting and the messy arrangement of the study materials. "Your exam scores beg to differ."

The blond flushed a healthy pink, darkening his skin tone even more, making the whisker-lines on his cheeks seem more pronounced. "J-j-jerk!"

"Best insult you can come up with?" Sasuke knew he was baiting his student, but it felt good, to be able to bicker with someone who felt so close to him, to be able to talk without seeing shadows of secrets lurking behind each word.

Naruto almost shouted a comeback, but he seemed to remind himself that Sasuke, no matter how infuriating his smirk might be, is still his teacher. And teachers could hand out detentions and make his life hell.

Sasuke almost pouted at the sudden deflated look that graced Naruto. Sometimes, Sasuke really felt that he and Naruto were of the same age, friends, rivals, maybe, because being Naruto's teacher just didn't feel right. "Just because I put it up, it doesn't mean you have the read all that."

"It's under the 'Reading Materials' section of your notes."

"Oh? So you're going to do anything your teacher tells you to do?"

Naruto frowned, looking at a loss as to what his teacher is getting at. "Students are supposed to follow teachers," Naruto said, a challenging glint in his eyes.

Sasuke felt a rush of triumph and the blush returned to his student's face. Sasuke inched closer, his voice dropping low despite the silence in the air.

"Anything? Including ki—"

"Sasuke, we need to go."

"Itachi," Sasuke ground out, pushing away from his seat near Naruto. Almost indecently near, but that was kinda the point, isn't it? Now that Sasuke has grasped at least half of his feelings of wanting to stay, he wanted to act on it immediately, before the countdown is up, but Itachi kept on disrupting his plans.

"Have a nice weekend," Naruto bit out, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Che. Fine. You too, Uzumaki." And because Sasuke hoped that he knew the reason why Naruto looked relatively depressed. "Let's go, _brother_."

Before completely leaving the library, Sasuke chanced a glance at his student. Indeed, Naruto looked slightly happier now.

* * *

"Trigonometry, huh?"

The unexpected voice jolted out Naruto from his studying. He glared at the person who interrupted his studying, eyes widening when he realized that it wasn't just any person—it was—

"Sasuke!"

The biology teacher rolled his eyes but sat beside Naruto on the wooden bench anyway. When he was still relatively new, he kept on replying, 'It's Uchiha-sensei to you', but it seemed that Naruto's brain was too small to remember that request. Sasuke found himself enjoying the way his named sounded when it was Naruto who said it, knowing that only Itachi and Naruto called him casually by that name.

"This one is easy," Sasuke couldn't help but comment as Naruto heatedly scribbled long lines of solutions to the problem, the pencil leaving angry marks of lead against the poor piece of paper known as Naruto's answer sheet.

Twitch, twitch. "Bastard," The blond seethed but didn't stand up and challenge him to a fight like he did before.

Sasuke was a bit surprised that Naruto, the dead-last Naruto, actually ignored him for the sake of studying. It was a bit insulting and heartwarming at the same time, because finally, Naruto is showing interest in his studies.

With trained silence, Sasuke removed himself from the bench and vowed to get something for the furiously-studying blond.

When Naruto finally looked up again from his review materials, Sasuke was already gone, but in his stead, sat a can of coffee and a ham sandwich seated atop one Ichiraku Ramen coupon. There was a short note written at the back of the coupon, handwriting perfectly legible and elegant-looking: 'If you don't get at least 80 it means you're really the dumbest _dobe_ and I'm gonna laugh at you'.

Despite the insulting nature of the note, Naruto opened the coffee can with a smile on his face.

"That arrogant bastard."

* * *

"So it seems that I'm the unlucky one to be assigned to _you_," Sasuke remarked with little venom in his tone.

Predictably, Naruto bristled from his spot in front of Sasuke's desk. The blond was about to retort, but Sasuke held up his hand to stop his tirade.

"I'm leaving soon."

Finally, he managed to say it without Itachi appearing or calling his phone out of nowhere. He hoped that saying it out loud would help remove the weird twinge in his chest, but it was a false hope, apparently.

Naruto looked taken aback; it took him a couple more minutes to recover, "When…?"

"At the start of the next semester," Sasuke said, sounding mechanical as he continued to give out details and instructions to Naruto for their summer tutoring session.

"You're leaving…" Naruto repeated after Sasuke said the things Naruto needed to know about the summer tutor class. Sasuke resisted the urge to tear out his hair because it meant that he just wasted his time explaining when Naruto wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying.

Sasuke's lips attempted a smile, "Let's just enjoy the field trip and the summer cram classes together."

Those words were meant to be comforting, Sasuke knew, but somehow, he didn't believe those words himself.

* * *

"You know, if _Uchiha-sensei_ is really going away soon, it would be better if you confess your feelings now." Chouji said and it was a miracle Naruto actually understood what the other teen said, given that his words were punctuated by the crunching sounds of potato chips.

"What feelings are you talking about?!" Naruto whispered furiously, because as much as he wanted to yell, he didn't really want to attract unnecessary attention to _this_ talk he was having with his friends. He told them about Sasuke leaving so that they could help him think of a way to stop Sasuke, not for them to suddenly talk about girly stuff!

"You know, _feelings_," Kiba teased with suggestively waggling eyebrows, "like: _I want to have sex with you, Sasuke-sensei_."

Naruto stared at his dog-loving friend, horrified, "_You_ want to have s-s-sex with Sasuke?!"

"What? NO!" Kiba looked terribly offended.

"But you just said—"

"I was talking about _your _feelings, dumbass."

The sound of Shikamaru's hand hitting his face interrupted the silence that spread after Kiba's statement.

"But I don't want…" Naruto started, a blush seated high up on his cheeks.

Shino finally deigned it an important moment to move away from his constant hiding place. "I am glad you found the love of your life. I am willing to assist you in your quests to make sure you capture his heart in your hands."

Naruto smiled awkwardly, ignoring Shikamaru's comment of '_that sounds like Naruto will murder sensei_', and thanks Shino for his support to whatever he was offering support to.

"Look, Naruto," Kiba interjected, "Once you finally admit you want to bone Sasuke-sensei, you'll be able to get this _thing_ out your system, and then you can finally be normal again and forget all about this stupid infatuation."

Shikamaru frowned and he stepped forward, intent on not letting Kiba's words bring Naruto to the wrong direction. "Oi, that is not—"

"It's very stupid, yeah?" Naruto observed after a few heartbeats, "Kiba… you're probably right."

"So, so troublesome—"

Before Shikamaru could continue sharing his opinion about the matter, the group heard scrambling from the nearby bushes. Naruto immediately runs toward the source of the sound, hoping fervently that the person didn't eavesdrop on their talk.

Naruto managed to see a small glimpse of the person who ran away from the bushes.

The blond's heart stopped. Of all the people—

Chouji voiced the words that Naruto didn't want to be true.

"Eh? Isn't that Uchiha-sensei just now?"

* * *

A class field trip was something the whole school agreed upon, as a away of finishing the academic year with a bang. Each class will be allocated a pair of teachers to supervise them as they were going for some outdoor camping.

All the students eagerly waited for the list of teachers assigned to each class, and Naruto's female classmates started cheering loudly. The blond knew it could only mean one thing—Sasuke's one of the assigned teachers.

"This is your chance, blondie!" Kiba cackled, while Naruto repeatedly punched his shoulder to shut him up, because _dog-boy, everyone can hear you!_

The principal then asked the students to shuffle into the traditional buddy system and sounds of laughter and good cheer surrounded the students waiting to be seated at the shuttle bus.

"When you enter the bus, sit with your buddy already!"

Naruto blinked as he stared at the two rows of seats in front of him.

Shikamaru and Chouji.  
Kiba and Shino.

"Eh?! I don't have a buddy?!"

Shikamaru's 'you only noticed now?!' was drowned out by Kiba's sudden moment of loud realization that yeah, there's five of them so there would be one man out.

"Aww man," Naruto complained, feeling a bit depressed already. He didn't think that the start of the field trip would be like this, with him far away from his friends and it would continue as long as they kept up the buddy system.

"Do you want to be my buddy, Naruto?" A female voice suddenly asked him and Naruto felt his jaw drop in surprise.

"S-S-Sakura-chan?"

The pink-haired girl smiled, a friendly smile, and Naruto thought that it was such a long time ago when he stopped worshipping Sakura-chan's smiles.

"Well, Ino-pig is sitting with her precious Leo-kun, so…"

"O-Okay…" Naruto agreed without much thought, though he still looked faintly surprised with the turn of events. Shikamaru told the blond to sit in front of them; Shikamaru didn't look too happy with the way Sakura suddenly appeared in Naruto's life as though she didn't reject him way too many times before.

Well, things seemed to be looking up. He wasn't stuck with some jerk for a buddy, and he sat near his friends, and Sasuke would be there with them! It was finally shaping into a nice blowout after weeks of intensive studying for the exams.

But then, things never stay perfect, do they?

Iruka and Ebisu entered the school bus assigned for Naruto's class.

Naruto couldn't help but feel the twinge of betrayal.

"Where is Uchiha-sensei?" Sakura asked, "I thought he was our teacher-in-charge…?"

Iruka-sensei placated the students protests and turned to answer Sakura's question.

"Well you see… Uchiha-sensei messaged the school and told us he wouldn't be able to come."

The perfect blowout after exams…? Enjoy the field trip together…?

Naruto clenched his fists.

"Sasuke, you liar."

* * *

**To Be Continued**

This chapter focused more on Itachi and Sasuke, because, well. Aside from the fact that they're my top two characters in Naruto, story-wise, this will be the transition point to the final parts as there are roughly only 3-4 chapters left... (The ItaSasu undertones just… flew out of my fingers. O.o)

When I started writing Naruto fics 2 years ago, I've always felt a bit strange in my choosing of how to portray Itachi. But now… If you have read the more recent Naruto manga, then…! Haha. I'm not too off-tangent with my characterization of Itachi after all! 8D

**Next Chapter**: Sai appears! And more drama, but more importantly, Sai appears! XD  
**Snippet**: "Uchiha-sensei, I believe Naruto-kun is interested in your… penis." Sasuke blinked and started to slowly inch away from the smiling student.

Please share your thoughts about this installment with me! XD I'd like to know if my writing is still okay, or if it got better, or it got worse LOL If there are inconsistencies with the storyline, please don't hesitate to point it out! By the way, do you guys want to receive replies in your reviews…? Because I just read a rant on FFR pointing out that reviewers don't really like authors replying to them D: And I'm not sure how true is that;;;;

PS: To the people who are having exams soon, good luck!! :D

**Please review :)**


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